Synopsis

In Mexico City, a troubled former CIA operative accepts a bodyguard job protecting a wealthy family's young daughter. As Creasy gradually rediscovers purpose through his bond with Pita, she is kidnapped during a coordinated attack. Badly wounded but alive, he sets out on a relentless campaign of vengeance against the criminals and corrupt officials responsible for taking her.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on A. J. Quinnell's 1980 novel and is a remake of the 1987 film starring Scott Glenn.

• The story was originally intended to remain in Naples, Italy. The setting was moved to Mexico City because the filmmakers felt the kidnapping crisis there better suited the contemporary story.

• Brian Helgeland first encountered the 1987 film while renting videos in the late 1980s. Quentin Tarantino, who was working at the video store, recommended it to him.

• Many scenes between Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken were improvised. The kitchen exchange between Creasy and Pita also developed largely through ad-libbed dialogue.

• The school sequences were filmed at a convent chosen because it resembled a location Tony Scott had seen while scouting in Milan.

• The Mexico shoot lasted more than three months and used approximately 70 local actors and 11,000 extras.

• Composer Harry Gregson-Williams received the 2005 BMI Film Music Award for his score.

• Released in the United States on April 23, 2004, the film earned more than $130 million worldwide against a reported budget of $60 million to $70 million.